


here's to never growing up.

by LoserEddie



Category: Animal House (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-10
Updated: 2020-09-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:15:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26357071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoserEddie/pseuds/LoserEddie
Summary: "They know your brother's a complete closet case, and soon enough, they'll probably think the same of us. We're not going to be like them, not ever. We'll just be the outcasts for the rest of our academic careers."-----high school sucks. also listen to "be true to your school" by the beach boys
Kudos: 2





	here's to never growing up.

The idea of a new school came with a certain unease. Not the kind that came from social interaction for the many cursed with anxiety towards it, but more like the uneasy feeling somebody would feel as they entered a dank cave. For Larry, packing for this new school was like readying a bag of equipment for exploration. He was as lost as a young explorer thrown into the deep jungle, and other than his close friend, he had nobody to rely on. If Kent were to fall ill, Larry might as well sacrifice himself to the apex predators of the social ladder.

The sun shined down on the steps that Larry stood by, leading to what he considered his second home. He rocked back and forth on the heels of his worn tennis shoes, occasionally pausing to hoist himself onto the railing and peek through the window of the Dorfman residence. Veiled by floral curtains, he would only spot the occasional shadow, and if he discovered it was Kent strolling around, he would have to stop himself from socking him one. He had been waiting almost ten minutes for his friend- if he stalled any longer, both would end up late to school. What a great impression on the first day!

He positioned himself on the curb of the sidewalk and pelted a pebble at Kent's bedroom window. Even then, he realized how foolish it was; even if he threw in a boulder and smashed the window to bits, if Kent were asleep, he wouldn't even stir. Larry fumbled his hands together as he tried to think up a good excuse to knock on the front door. Wondering what Kent was waiting around for was, obviously, a wonderful reason, but he would hate to be a bother. He may have even faked an injury if he didn't want to bother Mrs. Dorfman, someone he held in as high a regard as his own mother. So instead of taking what he _knew_ was the most reasonable action - if anyone else were in his position, they would certainly do it - he continued to rock on his heels and stare at the door.

"Larry C. Kroger, to what do I owe the pleasure?" A playful tone snapped Larry from his staring contest. When he looked at the window once more, the floral curtains were replaced by Fred Dorfman, sitting on the windowsill and kicking his legs right above the flowerbed.

"Well, I was- I was just looking for Kent. He wouldn't happen to be in there, would he?" Larry regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth. Of _course_ Kent was inside- this was his house! He continued to rub his hands, counting each brick that lined the walls.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but he hasn't been home for the past fifteen minutes. Took off after you wouldn't answer him- you're going to Faber, now, right? If Kent forgets, tell the boys I said hi."

"I would think Kent already got around to doing it, but- how would I even recognize them?"

"Oh, believe me, they're hard to miss. You better get running, though; Wormer's a real hardass, he'll have your _head_ if you don't make it on time."

* * *

"Kent, where have you been?!"

Larry scurried up the steps of Faber, chasing down his, if he thought about it, _only_ friend, Kent. In all honesty, Larry had never been a social butterfly; quite the opposite, actually. He shied away from conversations all throughout kindergarten, and it was a habit he could never seem to rid of. So having a friend that understood his troubles, and shared a few himself, was welcome, _especially_ when it came to social climates as challenging as high school.

"Waiting for _you!"_ Kent slowed to allow Larry to catch up, then casually walked alongside him even with their initial annoyance towards one another, "It's the only thing I could do, you wouldn't answer my texts!"

Larry rolled his eyes, "Yeah, because my mother grounded me, _again_. You know how she is. If I weren't going to school, I would have at least gotten her to call you."

"It would've been better than not knowing where you were. Come on, Larry, we should be _enjoying_ our first day! Fred told me all about the cliques here- you think we could join one?"

"It's not some sort of _club_. If you want to hang out with them, you need to be, I don't know, cool, hip? We haven't fit that description a day in our lives."

"Because we've always been around the same people! Nobody knows us here, it's a brand new start. Give it a shot?"

And in the middle of the steps, Kent stopped the two of them, and held out his hand. For a while, Larry could only stand. His lips remained in a tight line as he pulled at the bottom hem of his striped t-shirt. But in that moment, as he thought over the decision, he came to a stunning realization. He took Kent's hand and shook it with a grin.

"I'm in. If Fred 'the Fruit' Dorfman could get popular, so can we," He giggled, rocking back and forth once again.

"You're the worst!" Kent elbowed Larry with a smile slipping onto his own face, "I'm telling him you said that, you know."

"The only reason he doesn't like those rumors is because people think that's all they are. If my cousin didn't go back to Nebraska, they would probably still be _dating_. Now come on, we're almost late to class."

The pair hurried inside, barely avoiding the stampede of seniors that had already lost all patience for this endless school routine. Students rummaged through clean blue lockers (They had extra funds to replace the old ones once they canceled math competitions, Fred explained, which no one ever bothered to attend) and chatted amongst themselves. As for Larry and Kent, well, they didn't have much else _to_ discuss. Even amongst themselves, they had never been overly social. Just knowing they had company was enough to help maneuver through life.

They only shared a few classes, including their first: English. It's not that Larry _hated_ this subject, but, really, he didn't see a need for it. He had been speaking English all his life, he didn't need to study the advanced bits. It all felt pointless- even if that was quite the opposite on his report card. Fearing grades lower than the ones from his previous school year, Larry followed his friend to the most boring class of them all. Most of the students were already well situated, and Larry nearly sprinted to the middle row, feeling like every eye in the entire school was set on him.

Kent sat a few seats away, far too distant for Larry's comfort. The dependency embarrassed him greatly, and considering he would be graduating in two years, he knew he would have to grow out of it sometime soon. But that growth wouldn't occur in just one class period. So, until that lucky day, Larry could only sit and bounce his leg, eyes trained on the checkered tiles beneath him.

"Can I borrow a pencil?"

Larry nearly fell out of his chair. He turned to his right, staring at a boy with his hand stretched out. He had this odd sense of familiarity to him; not _quite_ someone Larry remembered, but that dark, curly hair and laid back, yet all the while beaming with energy, smile, reminded him of something, or someone, he couldn't exactly place. Almost subconsciously, he dug through his bag and passed a dull pencil to the stranger.

"Sorry, I can get you a better one. I just wasn't-" Larry rubbed his eyes, sighing, "This is gonna sound weird, but I- I don't know you, do I?"

"What's your name?" The boy examined the pencil, but didn't bother to exchange it.

"Larry Kroger. Do you live near Roywood?"

"Jim Blutarsky. My brother used to go down there freshman year, but I've never lived there."

"Oh, sorry. Again."

The conversation fell dead, as most of Larry's conversations tended to. Jim Blutarsky. The name didn't ring a bell, but the person sure did. Instead of class dragging on, it seemed to go by in an instant, Larry too caught up digging through the depths of his mind to focus. In the hallway, him and Kent finally parted ways, heading off to different classes. He could only hope that the rest of the day would move as swiftly as first period.

* * *

As embarrassing as it was, Larry had to be honest: cafeterias _terrified_ him. They were either chillingly quiet or loud enough to wake a corpse. Joining the line for hot lunch, he found it was the latter. Usually, he would complain about not having food from home, but frankly, the meals they supplied weren't half bad. Even if the students continued to be overwhelming, at least a private school could improve its lunch quality.

Kent, who had packed his own lunch, was quick to approach Larry as he left the confines of the lunch line. Motioning to a rather humble looking group, he explained that he had found the _perfect_ clique for them to join: the Omegas. Though their title may be misleading, they were apparently the most elite students in the school. Larry, although hesitant, followed nevertheless. After all, it was humiliation with a friend or humiliation by himself.

"Can we sit here?" How Kent had the guts to ask something like that, especially to people as powerful as _them_ , Larry would never know. Yet he smiled right through it, unaware of how awkward this would be for someone like his friend.

"Could we get a name first?" Of course, the most _intimidating_ of the bunch spoke first. Maybe it was the constant glare, or the nearly unhinged vibe he seemed to radiate, but no matter what, just seeing him made Larry's skin crawl.

"That's Larry Kroger, and _I'm_ Kent Dor-"

"Fred's little brother!" Now a girl spoke, with an... accent. Sounded sort of Southern, even though they were nowhere near the area, "Why, he used to talk all about you! Don't tell me you inherited _that_ gene."

The table erupted into laughter, and Kent and Larry looked at each other. Finally, the first to speak among the group (the one that scared Larry shitless from presence alone, remember?) said, "We wouldn't put up with Fred, and we certainly won't deal with you."

Repetition certainly wouldn't be necessary; Larry took off before the man could even finish. The last thing he needed on his first day of school was a group of people beating the shit out of him. By the time Kent caught up, he was just about to exit the cafeteria.

"They were just kidding around!" Kent said, patting him on the shoulder.

But nothing could cool Larry down now, not even his friend's attempts at comfort. "No- no they were _not,_ Kent, and you know they weren't. They know your brother's a complete closet case, and soon enough, they'll probably think the same of us. We're not going to be like them, not ever. We'll just be the outcasts for the rest of our academic careers."

"Larry-"

"Let's just eat in the library, okay? It's better than dealing with this."

"I was just going to say, there's someone else we can sit with."

* * *

And _that's_ how Larry and Kent ended up packed amongst the Deltas, listening to them talk about pranks and parties with mouths full of junk. Well, by "talking", it was more like bragging. The group made sure to remind the two boys of their every accomplishment, even though, in hindsight, they didn't seem like victories at all. But if anyone could spin a tale in their favor, Larry would come to find out it was the apparent spokesman, Eric. If this weren't school, Eric would have probably been the most obnoxious person Larry had ever met. Even compared to the rowdy bunch that surrounded him.

"Come on, guys, we haven't let these two get a _word_ in," While Eric had likely been speaking the most, he still managed to get everyone relatively quiet in a second or two, "So, Dorfman Jr., you and Larry wanna sit with us from now on, right?"

"It's not like we could sit anywhere else," Larry said.

"Good point, good point. Well, no matter what the kids around here tell you, we aren't just a bunch of loser outcasts. Outcasts, sure, but we don't just let anyone hang around. Now, that would make us _real_ losers. So tell me, how big's your house?"

"What?"

A boy sitting nearby, Donald, added, "We're looking for a house with at least two bedrooms and a basement. Much better for partying." The whole table nodded in agreement.

"Uh- two. Two bedrooms, three floors, if you count the basement. Two otherwise."

"Solid number. Your parents home often?"

"Every day except Friday, that's their date night."

"Not bad!" Eric twirled his straw between his fingers, eyeing the pair, "Alright, here's the big one: would you two be willing to steal alcohol from your family?"

"You want me to _steal?"_

"Hey, if you're so protective of your mom and dad, we can teach you to shoplift. You just have to promise that you'll _do_ it."

When Larry looked to Kent for guidance, he shrugged. Guess there was only one thing left to do. "Alright, sure, we will."

"Great! Welcome to the table, you two."

At first, Larry found it pretty foolish that he would risk a criminal record, just to get a few more friends. But hey, anything for the thrill, right?

And he had to admit, having more than one person to sit with at lunch wasn't so bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there are too many fucking men in this chapter it's so exhausting. we hear from babs ONCE. i have actually moved past the need for teenage boys.


End file.
